As we reported before, do to the Coronavirus, the Olympic Committee has decided to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On Monday, during an official meeting, it was announced that the 2020 Olympics are now set to take place between August 24 – September 5, 2021.
IOC president Thomas Bach said in his statement: “I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government, and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge.
“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”
International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons added: “When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport.
“With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games 512 days away, the priority for all those involved in the Paralympic movement must be to focus on staying safe with their friends and family during this unprecedented and difficult time.”
As we explained before, while the Olympics are massive events that draw the entire world, they create enormous schedule shifts for other events. The World Athletics Championships, originally set to take place in Oregon, USA, between 6 August – 15 August 2021, will now be postponed until 2022.
Tickets are still valid for people who bought them earlier, and they are entitled to refunds if they wish.
Tokyo 2020 organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said he had proposed the 23 July to 8 August time frame to the IOC, and that Bach had agreed, following consultations with the international sports federations.
“A certain amount of time is required for the selection and qualification of athletes and for their training and preparation, and the consensus was that staging the rescheduled Games during the summer vacation in Japan would be preferable,” Mori said.
“In terms of transport, arranging volunteers and the provision of tickets for those in Japan and overseas, as well as allowing for the Covid-19 situation, we think that it would be better to reschedule the Games to one year later than planned, in the summer of 2021.”
Despite changing their dates, the 2020 Olympics are still keeping the title. Keeping the title is probably meant to keep the consistent pattern of the games. The Olympics is the largest event to be canceled due to the Coronavirus. The world has been on a standstill as countries are locking down their borders, along with quarantine orders. The hope is that by the time the Olympics return, the world is back to normal.